The rapid rise in the number of emerging pathogens in the world's population represents a serious global health problem and underscores the need to develop broad spectrum anti-infectives that target common components of large classes of pathogens.
For example, it is estimated that more than 2% of the world's population is currently infected with the Hepatitis C Virus (HCV). One of the outstanding characteristics of HCV is its ability to establish chronic infections in 65-80% of infected patients. Chronic infection with HCV can lead to serious sequelae including chronic active hepatitis, cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma—usually manifested 10, 20 and 25 years respectively after the initial infection. End stage liver disease from HCV has become the leading indication for liver transplantation in North America, and it has been suggested that there will be a 2-3 fold increase in liver transplantation in 10 years as a result of cirrhosis from hepatitis C.
Broad spectrum anti-infective agents for use in treating various infective diseases are of interest. Also of interest are anti-infective agents for specifically treating one or more pathogen caused infective diseases, such as HCV.